How one company is fixing the most annoying thing about applying for a job

You wait .. and you wait ... and you wait.Flickr/jesus-leon
You spend weeks perfecting your résumé, days writing a flawless cover letter, and hours filling out the job application. Then you wait … and wait … and wait.

And sometimes you never hear back from the employer. In fact, you don't even know if they've seen your application.

This can be incredibly frustrating and disheartening, especially for first-time job seekers.

"There is so much uncertainty and anticipation that surrounds a job application," says Nina Boyd, a marketing manager at WayUp, a site used by hundreds of thousands of college students to find jobs at places like Microsoft, Uber, The New York Times, Disney, and Google.

"Students worry if they're qualified, if they made a typo, or if there's something negative about them on the Internet that they don't know about. These kinds of worries, plus the fact that some companies review hundreds or even thousands of applications, make the whole process kind of nerve-wracking."

Having no clue why a company doesn't get back to you or even acknowledge your application only fuels that anxiety and frustration, Boyd says.

Rachel Gillett/Business Insider

Since it's the number one complaint WayUp hears from job seekers, the company has decided to take action.

Earlier this month, WayUp launched a new mobile app that notifies applicants the second an employer reviews their resume.

"We can't promise students a full-fledged explanation for why they don't hear back," says Boyd. "But it's low-hanging fruit to send a quick notification confirming your application reached the right hands and has struck some interest. Ninety percent of students on the app have opted into this feature, so it's clearly having a positive effect."

She says WayUp decided to push this feature for two reasons. "The first — we take our user feedback very seriously. Students told us that one of the worst parts of the job search experience is the uncertainty about whether or not their application even made it through to the employer's inbox," she explains. "A push notification assures them that, hired or not, the employer did in fact receive their application and take time to review it. This relieves a lot more anxiety than you might expect."

The second reason relates to engagement, she tells Business Insider. "If you're on the fence about a position, a reminder that the company received your application and might be interested is often enough of a reassurance to keep students checking back in to view and apply for other jobs." It may give them the confidence they need to continue the job search process.